The solution to over-parenting is never as simple as "putting your arms down when you get to school" because the kid involved has to learn how to things for his/herself. A kid constantly being under parental surveillance means they're always just going to do what they know the parents want to see or hear. That's the problem with over-parenting, or as they're commonly called, "helicopter parents."

From personal experience, as well as research performed at Brigham Young University, helicopter parenting can cause a more rebellious adolescent stage, causing the kid(s) to be more prone to lying, smoking, drinking, etc., and victims can psychologically lack a sense of self-worth. This is stemmed from the idea that the kid(s) want to experience their freedom for themselves without parents telling them what to do.

Brockport student Erin Giblin knows about this all too well. She attended Monroe Community College for two years where she lived with her parents until transferring to University at Buffalo in the 2015 fall semester. "I was so happy to be on my own that I actually went a little crazy," Giblin said about living at UB. "My dad has always been controlling of curfew and friends I hung out with, that I started going out and drinking all the time and my grades suffered."

Giblin moved back in with her parents in Greece as she now attends Brockport. "I learned from my mistakes being on my own, and I'm safer at home, but even as a young adult I still have to beat around the bush with my parents when I want to go out with my friends."

They say parents know best, and perhaps over-parenting is their way of trying to prevent their kids from making mistakes they made. But shouldn't you make mistakes when you're young so you know what's right to do in the future? The best thing you can do as a parent is share your experiences with your kids and educate them about the consequences of actions, but mistakes will happen and then those can be corrected together. Mutual trust and freedom is how everyone will win.